Drones
 

The FAA have been tasked to allow drones to operate widely in the US by 2015.
The CEO of FEDEX has stated he wants freight drones to be introduced as soon as possible. Iran claims to have captured a US military drone by interfering with its electronic control and another experiment in the US has just shown how simple it is to interfere with the GPS signal required for navigation. Given that hackers can gain access to the Pentagon`s most sophisticated security system, have the consequences of allowing drones to roam freely across our skies really been considered??

Wow, 2015... That's pushing it a bit!

Do FedEx have a secret UAV freighter they've been building at Lockheed's Skunk Works?

Well, they'd have to be so well proven before they'd get certificated that they'd necessarily be very safe indeed, but if/when one had an accident I suspect the outcry would be so severe they'd never survive it so the project would be self-limiting.
And Fedex, the FAA and manufacturers know that full well.

If posters on PPRuNe can list the limitations and vulnerabilities of UAVs it is utterly fatuous to ask if they have been considered by the experts. No, of course they haven't. Why would anyone do that? d'oh!

It won't happen in the near future.

"GPS signal required for navigation" - how do the rest of us manage then?

The big issues are of-course a little different...

- Making it as safe to other airspace users as manned aircraft
- Sense and avoid of other aircraft
- Ensuring that if the UAV malfunctions or becomes uncertain of position, it can recover sensibly and safely.

There's been a heck of a lot of work on all this already, but I can't see all the problems being solved by 2015.

Why was this moved toi the Freight sectio? It affeccts everyone, in or out of controlled airspace. Freight drones were only mentioned because FEDEX`s aspirations were discussed on US TV last night.

It all started with legislation passed in the USA I think earlier this year allowing UAV's to operate at your local airport and gov't funding to increase the speed at which ads-b stations are built domestically in the USA.

Controversy as Government Opens American Skies to Drones | Defense Media Network